Class-action denied for tritium suit

A federal judge has denied class-action status for a lawsuit seeking damages from Exelon Corp. for spills of radioactive tritium at a nuclear power plant in Will County.

U.S. District Court Judge Suzanne Conlon concluded that attorneys who filed the suit went too far in defining the potential plaintiffs, or class, as up to 6,500 people living in a 25-square-mile area surrounding Braidwood Generating Station.

"The class area is defined in geographic terms unrelated to evidence of actual tritium contamination," Conlon wrote. As defined, the area includes about 2,500 properties, but only three were contaminated, based on Exelon measurements and plaintiff contamination models, she said in a ruling entered Tuesday.

"Plaintiffs provide no evidence that tritiated groundwater has contaminated properties throughout the proposed class area," she said.

"We're pleased with the decision," said Krista Lopykinski, a spokeswoman for Exelon Nuclear. Attorney Douglas McNamara said the plaintiffs plan to ask Conlon to reconsider her ruling, based on new testing information that he said shows 155 properties have groundwater tritium levels that exceed what's normally found in that area.

Lopykinski said Exelon consultants believe normal levels of tritium in the area are four times higher than the level cited by those suing Exelon.

The suit was filed in March 2006 by three couples. Other potential plaintiffs include 23 property owners who initially filed suits in state court.

The suit seeks payments for property-value losses, bottled-water expenses and "loss of use and enjoyment of property." It asks that Exelon monitor residents' medical status.

In late 2005, Exelon Nuclear announced elevated tritium levels were found in groundwater outside the plant. It later said most of the contamination resulted from two major spills in 1998 and 2000, although the company determined tritium had been spilled at least 22 times.

Company officials said testing of private wells near the plant showed elevated tritium levels--which were well below federal drinking water limits--in only one private well. They said groundwater contamination was confined to the plant site and nearby areas.

Tritium, a byproduct of nuclear generation, can enter the body through ingestion, absorption or inhalation. Exposure can increase the risk of cancer, birth defects and genetic damage. Exelon, state and federal officials have said the contamination near Braidwood poses no threat to public health.

In a recent announcement Exelon Nuclear officials said they had significantly reduced tritium contamination at and near the plant. Details will be presented Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. in Exelon's Services and Training Center, 36400 S. Essex Rd., Wilmington.